Michał Chełkowski from Szczecin in northwest Poland surpassed his wildest dreams after going to the country in the hope of finding a big catch.

The delighted catfish specialist told his local newspaper, Głos Szczeciński: “I caught this colossus together with my colleague Jarin. The fight lasted about 10 minutes.

“It's an unforgettable experience. The bait on which the catfish was tempted was a bunch of worms.

“We went after it for two hours; it got away from us; I followed it. We waited for the moment. A tough fight.

“A fish like this is a true monument of nature.”

The Polish record for the largest catfish caught belongs to Władysław Bombik, who in 2017 caught a giant measuring 259 cm, which is 2 cm less than Chełkowski's colossus.

But although Chełkowski’s colossus is 2 cm longer, it won’t be officially recognized in Poland because it wasn’t caught in Polish waters.